Scottish Opera: Anthropocene OperaVision

Anthropocene, the acclaimed new work commissioned by Scottish Opera from composer Stuart MacRae and librettist Louise Welsh, will be available to watch on OperaVision from May.

Directed by Matthew Richardson, designed by Samal Blak and conducted by Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford, Anthropocene had its world premiere in January at Theatre Royal Glasgow, and tells the story of an expeditionary team of scientists who become trapped in the frozen Arctic wastelands.

The full performance will be available to view worldwide on the free streaming platform from 17 May to 17 November, and is the first time a Scottish Opera production has been featured on OperaVision.

Launched in 2017, OperaVision – curated by Opera Europa, the European association of opera companies and festivals – streams performances from all over the world, allowing viewers to watch productions from the greatest European opera houses from the comfort of their own home. As well as full-length performances shown with subtitles, it features extracts, interviews and behind the scenes footage.

Anthropocene is the fourth collaboration between MacRae and Welsh, a fruitful partnership initially born of Scottish Opera’s Five:15 Opera Made in Scotland series, which paired composers and librettists to create five 15-minute operas. The composer-librettist team went on to createRemembrance Day in 2009, Ghost Patrol in 2012, which won a South Bank Sky Arts Award and was nominated for an Olivier Award, and 2016’s The Devil Inside, based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Inverness-born MacRae’s work has been performed at the Royal Opera House and Edinburgh International Festival, and by ensembles including Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Hebrides Ensemble. He is currently Composer in Association at Lammermuir Festival.